PHILADELPHIA — When Colin Purrington looked at a sample of dried figs under a microscope recently, he answered a question that had been bugging him for years.
Inside the chewy fruits, he found the shriveled remains of several very small insects, including a type of parasitic wasp.
A retired Swarthmore College biology professor, Purrington says his discovery is no cause for concern and that the presence of the insects makes scientific sense. Many types of figs are pollinated by wasps, and like the one he found, they typically are no bigger than the head of a pin.
